As the Nigeria’s Government, through the Nationam Bureau of Statistics continues in rebasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI), BudgIT, a civic tech organisation has urged that final outcomes reflect the true economic status of the Country.
Oluseun Onigbinde, global director, BudgIT made this call at the GDP/CPI sensitisation workshop for CSOs held in Abuja on Monday.
According to Onigbinde, the success of the rebasing effort depends on building public trust in the institutions responsible for its implementation. He noted that the previous rebasing underscored the substantial impact of policy changes in the services and ICT sectors, such as telecommunications deregulation and banking sector recapitalisation.
He explained that rebasing of the GDP must reflect changes in the economy which are product of public policies over time.
Read also: Rebasing GDP, CPI may not yield desired results – CFG
“We believe that it is highly necessary, the last time when we did the GDP rebasing was a long time and we could see that it was specific about the fact that the services component of the economy had significantly grown, the ICT component of the economy had significantly grown and maybe the oil industry was no longer as huge as it used to be and those were very key topical issues that shows that the GDP rebasing was a product of some sort of public policy issues at the time.
“So all of that changes in the economy culminated into the rebasing of the economy. So when we saw the rebasing of the GDP, it was extremely evident to everybody that these changes had happened serially in the economy, and this is the evidence of those changes.
“The things that Nigerians want to see is that the current rebasing is a product of public policy changes that’s happened over time. So it’s extremely important that as we take on the GDP rebasing, as we take on this CPI rebasing, we also ensure that the data comes out in a way that engenders trust in the institution,” he said.
Read also: Explainer: What GDP, CPI rebasing means for economy
Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician General of the Federation (SG), in his remarks, explained that rebasing is a vital exercise that ensures that the economic indicators (GDP and CPI) are current and accurate reflections of the economic realities.
According to him, as economies evolve, new industries emerge, and consumption patterns shift, it becomes imperative to update the nation’s statistical measures to capture these changes.
“Rebasing our GDP and CPI allows us to align with these transformations, providing a more precise and relevant picture of Nigeria’s economic landscape. This process is foundational to informed policymaking, strategic planning, and effective governance; hence, it is one exercise that the NBS is conducting with significant importance and professionalism”, he said.
Read also: Rebased CPI to capture price volatility, aid policy making – NBS
He noted that if Nigeria is to make the desired progress and development, it is imperative that NBS, as the official producer of data, plays its role adequately in providing timely, accurate, and reliable statistics to inform all users, be it users in the public sector, or private sector.
This he said will enable them to design, plan, and implement policies and programs that will lead to the attainment of national objectives for the benefit of Nigerians.
“As we finalise this process of the rebasing of our GDP and CPI estimates, I want to highlight this key point. The rebasing exercise is designed to ensure that our economic indicators accurately reflect the current structure of our economy, incorporating new and emerging sectors, updating our consumption baskets, and refining our data collection methods. It is not to suit the expectations of anyone or entity, but simply to measure accurately in line with the global standards and practice,” he added.
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